The documented RIA threat, 'phono-advisors' and their nearly $300 billion of assets
Not much romantic about call center-based advisors but under banners like Vanguard, Fisher Investments or Merrill Edge, they are a force to be reckoned with
Bill Winterberg
Brooke, you might have been joking about “phono-advisors,” but it’s actually a real thing.
<a href="http://www.phonoadvisor.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.phonoadvisor.com/</a>
Brooke Southall
Bill,
That is too funny. Right in my backyard.
Brooke
Dan Warburton
Really enjoyed the article Brooke.
Bill, that site sure looks like a parody. Does Orion Software now actually provide “phono-advice” or are they just having a lot of fun with the “phono-advisor” concept?
Scott Horton
Hmm, couldn’t find their ADV.
Dan Warburton
Looking more closely, I have to say that personally I can’t wait to get a pair of their “special PhonoAdvisor-branded glasses”. Brilliant.
Marie Swift
Interesting … yesterday the http://www.phonoadvisor.com url went to a site that I, too, thought was an “Onion-like” spoof. Just now (twice) when I clicked the link in Bill Winterberg’s post, it redirects to a WordPress site owned by Coastal Advisors (but the content has been moved behind a log in wall): http://phonoadvisor.com/wp-login.php?redirect_to=%2F
Jud Mackrill
Glad you guys enjoyed the parody. Just having some fun during our Fuse weekend. Lots of really cool real stuff came out of the weekend and it’s well worth following the #fuseutah hashtag on twitter.
Note: coastal capital is a faux advisory firm used in demos and is in no way a real advisor
Jack Waymire
Please note the big phono advisors are brand names (Merrill, Vanguard, Schwab) or they have a substantial presence on the Internet – for example Ken Fisher and his Forbes relationship. There are numerous advisory firms that are evolving into the Robo/Phono business models. Their success will be impacted by credibility that can be validated on the Internet. If they are invisible on the Internet they will be limited to boiler room-like operations.
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